Appeal in Rudin murder case goes to state Supreme Court

Kim Smith

Thursday, May 30, 2002 | 8:59 a.m.

Attorneys for convicted killer Margaret Rudin have filed a 222-page appeal with the Nevada Supreme Court asking that her conviction be overturned on 27 separate grounds.

Many of the issues raised in the opening brief by Deputy Public Defender Craig Creel are the same as those rejected by District Judge Joseph Bonaventure when the attorney asked for a new trial for Rudin in August.

Just as in the motion for a new trial, Creel lambasts Bonaventure, defense attorney Michael Amador and prosecutors.

Rudin, who turns 59 on Friday, was convicted of first-degree murder May 1, 2001, in the shooting death of her husband, Ronald Rudin, 64, in December 1994. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years.

It took prosecutors almost three years to indict Rudin and another two years for police to find her after she fled the jurisdiction and assumed numerous aliases.

Creel suggests Bonaventure engaged in misconduct by meeting with Rudin in private and tainted the jury by engaging in "repeated, caustic, intemperate and partial remarks" during jury selection and Amador's opening statements.

Creel also accuses Amador of being incompetent, unprepared and of failing to hire any expert witnesses to testify before the 10-week trial began.

As for prosecutors, Creel said that "devoting another 100 pages to the material and intentional exclusion of exculpatory facts, repeated prejudicial misstatements, hearsay violations and other unethical conduct, just at the grand jury stage, would not be too difficult."

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon, who prosecuted Rudin along with Chris Owens, said his office must respond to the brief by June 21.

"We'll contest the allegations in the appeal," Guymon said. "We'll defend the allegations against the prosecution and the court in our response."

The CBS news magazine "48 Hours" will be re-airing a segment on the Rudin case on Monday.